Hell Hath No Fury Like a College's Scorn, when it figures out its a safety...

Applying to College Admission Stories
1

Now, ok… The deal is I know how some colleges ask you ‘what other colleges are u applying to’… One of mine did, and I answered in complete honesty, and voila, they waitlisted me. Probably cuz they didnt feel very special with me putting Ivy League schools on it, when they were my safe school… (yes, I am an idiot, I know =O)

So I took the year off, and i’m reapplying now… After going through some threads, I figured other people had the right idea, it is supposed to be optional, and so its best not to be filled in. Thats wot im gonna do.

But the deal is, when you apply for financial aid, the colleges that ask for the ISFAA (im an international student and thats the international equivalent to the FASFA), they ask you to list all the colleges that you are applying to. Now in their case, they don’t mention anything about it being optional. So

scenario 1: do i fill it out and spill the beans, cuz that works exactly the way I’d want it not to,

scenario 2: do i not fill it out and risk it looking like an incomplete form

scenario 3: work out a different copy for each college and selectively put schools up, so that the school its being sent to feels special. I cud mention something like ‘amongst other colleges’ after the list down in this case, so it doesn’t seem dishonest even if they find out later there’s a college I didn’t put there earlier.

Vote on what sounds like the best plan to you… please…!

2

If you are applying to 9 colleges for example, I’d list the 4 or 5 colleges that are most similar to that college on that college’s form. You don’t want to list too many colleges, and you want that college to feel they are in competition to get you.

I did read about one moderately selective college that actually rejected their best applicants. They figured they were going to get into Ivies, and they didn’t want those students reducing their yield of students who were offered admission who enrolled.

I think that is short-sighted because some students will turn down an Ivy for a school they think is a better fit or that offers them much more merit aid. Also, US News no longer considers yield in their rankings.

3

thanx… I was one of those cases last time. I got waitlisted by brown, and i was a good contestant for some liberal art colleges, but i explicitly mentioned every thing every where, and Hobart and William Smith rejected me, cuz they probably felt they were my pity school…

Well, i like the idea, to make them feel competitive… I’ll take that… THanx… =)

4

The mmore colleges you apply the more likely it is that one will accept you. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

If your reason you want College is a higher paying job/career, but chances of admission are grim (your high school GPA is under 2.4 even with the most standard classes, you’re not a Veteran as they’re trendy these days, low SAT scores, etc)than I’d suggest that in the meantime you save your money, do without, cut cupons, and learn all you can about the stockmarket so you can trade after you saved enough.

But if learning is your main objective, don’t let a waiting list stop you from learning.

Turn the wait into a benefit. Read up on all the things that the general subjects will require. Example: read all you can about the Civil War, the early Industrial age-New Deal, the Cold War era, etc. Go to the ebooks website, and you should be able to read a textbook on the History of Ancient Rome: from village to empire. For example, if your professor tells you to write an essay on why Lincoln’s Civil War goals changed from preserving the Union to freeing the slaves, Its only a matter of search term combinations. You will already have your outline in place while your classmates are still brainstorming.

For Literature topics: googlize Professors’ syllabuses, because many professors postings of a syllabus end up on Google. Buy the books from Barns and noble bookstores, etc and read all you can. Do the same thing for your social studies requirement. As for English/Writing and foreign language requirements, any business school will serve the purpose.

Last but not least, learn how to type and take classes in shorthand. Many professors don’t use the textbook alot of the time, and success on exams will depend on the quality of your notes. Take shorthand because you might get a professor who doesn’t let you take a computer to class; with shorthand, you can write 50-70 words per minute.

By the time you get admitted, you’ll be ahead of the game.